Laboratory incubators are used, e.g., to store chemical compounds, cells, mixtures or other materials in a controlled atmospheric environment. A design for an incubator typically maximizes device storage capacity, while minimizing air transfer between the internal and external environments when sample containers are loaded into and unloaded from the device. Incubators in current use either include a single large door or an internal mechanism. Access to large door units requires opening the single large door, which exposes the entire storage area to the uncontrolled external environment. It is difficult to maintain internal stability (e.g., a selected temperature, a desired humidity level, a gas composition, etc.) when opening such large doors, because large volumes of air transfer between the controlled and uncontrolled environments. In contrast, an internal mechanism incubator includes a single small mechanically actuated door or slot through which sample containers are robotically or manually passed from the external environment. A secondary system, e.g., a robot, disposed in the controlled environment of the incubator then moves the container or other labware to its storage location within the device. Although this method reduces air transfer between controlled and uncontrolled environments, the secondary system disposed in the device is required to move objects within the incubator. Furthermore, breaches to the barrier between controlled and uncontrolled environments of these devices also result when repairs to the secondary system are required.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a simplified incubation device that reduces air exchange between internal and external environments. The invention provides this and a variety of additional features that will become apparent upon complete review of the following disclosure.